Posted on 07/24/2005 4:09:15 PM PDT by KevinDavis
Brook Park- The sky was not the limit Saturday as NASA's space-memorabilia flea market gave earthlings a chance to take leave of their dollars and senses.
But the heavens set one of the important standards for cost as 18 exhibitors hawked their historic wares in the auditorium at the NASA Glenn Research Center's visitors center.
"Space memorabilia" suggests commemorative coins, heirloom news clippings and autographed pictures of astronauts. Those were for sale Saturday, and rarity was one way that value was established.
(Excerpt) Read more at cleveland.com ...
I have my share of "space junk".
You collect odds and ends over the years. :-)
/...colonial.... 'oppression'....?
Wasn't the Soviet space shuttle, that never actually made it into space, for sale on EBAY a few years back?
I remember when they were conducting glide tests for the shuttle frame now-called "Enterprise." It was for aerodynamic testing and was NEVER intended for space flight. I think the name given for it at the time was scheduled to be Constitution.
Well, the Start Trek fans of America wouldn't stand for that. They wanted the first and only shuttle never to point its nose starward called "Enterprise." So Trek fans everywhere wrote in to NASA to petition the name change.
So NASA shrugs, the geeks get their wish, and amid the strains of STAR WARS, the new Enterprise is rolled out for a photo op prior to its first unpowered flight.
Which is a big shame for that bunch, really, because they missed the opportunity for a craft that really WOULD slip the bonds of earth under its own power in their lifetime to be called Enterprise. The closest they ever got afterwards for a shuttle name was the AppleTrek moniker "Endeavor."
I remember a cartoon from the late 70's that featured a Shuttle-clone with a sickle and hammer on the wings and a big, jointed snow shovel emerging from the cargo bay.
"Space SHUTTLE, comrade! SPACE SHUTTLE!!!"
Not a chance. SS1 is on its way to the Smithsonian along with other Rutan aircraft currently on display.
Original plans called for the Enterprise to be used for landing tests and then Congress was to fund the vehicles upgrade to space worthiness. This never happened and Enterprise became a hanger queen! Interestingly, when Challenger blew up NASA had sufficient spare parts which would have been used on Enterprise so they could build a replacement.
The whole fleet was supposed to be upgraded to a metallic heat shield system so that those cranky bricks could be done away with. Congress didn't fund that at the same time they pulled the fnding on the Advanced Solid Motors, (my best friend works for Lockheed and was purchasing officer for the division which was to do the ASM work. He was transferred to Michoud and has worked on the ET ever since).
This is why we need to wrest control of Space Faring from NASA and give it to Rutan, Musk and Bigelow! I saw on the News that SpaceShipOne is heading for display at OshKosh (Begosh!) and then will be delivered to the Air & Space Museum at Dulles Airport where it will sit next to Enterprise.
BTW friday night on Spike TV they played the StarTrek NG where Scotty is rescued from a Dyson Sphere. I believe it was his last StarTrek gig. I wish he was going up on Tuesday with Discovery!
Nope. The Enterprise was never designed to go into space. Not even as an upgrade. It was too heavy.
The Enterprise wasn't too heavy. Indeed it was ballasted to make sure that its weight would allow for proper aerodynamic testing, (the drop test). The only non-space items on board were the ejection seats for the test pilots who flew the test flights.
BTAIM the shuttle is way past due retirement and the CEV seems to be the choice for the future.
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